Recently, recommendations surfaced from our economic recovery committee for the establishment of a hemp industry as one of the means of stimulating the Bahamian economy. There has been much discussion about this issue since it was alluded to for several years, partially in combination with the legalization of marijuana. After hearing the recommendation again, I decided to do some research to ascertain for myself if or how viable this industry would be in The Bahamas. While I have not been against medical use of marijuana and hemp, my concern has always been that Bahamians pushing for medicinal use are more interested in marijuana as a business than as medicine. In recent times, from information I received, this is more so the case than I initially thought, and it appears the decision to legalize and push the business side of THC-related marijuana is a background deal involving elements across the business and political spectrum and a foregone conclusion. In spite of this, I decided to begin by examining the hemp industry.
Many potential uses and benefits have been touted – and during this time of economic turmoil and uncertainty – it seemed worth looking into if there was indeed great potential for this product in The Bahamas. Could it be an economic savior, particularly the CBD aspect? As I researched the topic, I came across an article in Forbes Magazine from 2019 and it provided some valuable insight into the viability of this resource to a country such as ours.
The article raised several concerns, which I was not aware of regarding the industry and caused me to delve further. The article revealed potential challenges in establishing such an industry and also showed that it did not appear to be a cut and dry proposition for The Bahamas. Below is a list of the main points from the article:
• The American hemp market was predicted to reach $26 billion in six years, but reality was at least in the initial stages quite different than the projections.
• The first year resulted in poor yields because of delayed planting schedules and heavy rains. The farmers involved doubted the crop would reach its potential as speculated.
• They discovered that growing hemp was more labor intensive than traditional crops. Harder work is involved than other crops with a lot having to be done by hand.
• New machinery was needed causing heavy investment and retrofitting.
• Some farmers were sold poor seed as there appeared to be a shortage of seed that can be used to produce high quality CBD yields. A number of farmers were duped into purchasing the wrong type of seed. The seed they received ended up being worthless for the type of product they expected to produce.
• Thieves began stealing plants thinking they were marijuana. This forced growers to invest in additional security measures and personnel adding to their cost. Some farmers spent the nights on the forms trying to prevent theft.
• Farmers struggled to find markets for their hemp as the markets did not materialize as expected. The bulk of the hemp was being sold overseas, which presented a challenge because US farmers had to compete with farmers in countries where hemp has been legal for some time.
• Without markets, they had to find a way to store the crop or it would all go to waste.
• Hemp farmers also experienced issues with banking, crop insurance and lack of access to herbicides and pesticides.
If the above is in fact true, this is not the rosy picture one would expect from a product designed to help save the Bahamian economy. It is hard to imagine that Forbes Magazine would fabricate such a story as Forbes is known to be a leader in the business news industry.
The other side of the marijuana industry has shown it can be profitable – yet a myriad of issues are attached to the prosperity. States like California and Colorado that have legalized marijuana have not seen a reduction in illegal activity and in fact, illegal growers proliferated and so did crime as reflected in the excerpt from California:
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has declared that illegal grows in Northern California “are getting worse, not better” and two months ago redeployed a contingent of National Guard troops stationed on the border with Mexico to go after illegal cannabis farms instead.
Out of some 32,000 farmers in the region, only about 3,500 had applied for a license by the end of 2017. Some insist that complying with regulations is too costly. Others are evading taxes. Running an illegal “grow,” however, leaves them especially vulnerable to “dope rips” (theft of processed marijuana), precisely because thieves know such farmers will be unwilling to file a police report. Criminal syndicates, which are involved in many of these thefts, resell much of the plunder out of state.
Other studies have shown increases in marijuana-induced psychosis, other mental health issues and negative social impacts including increased emergency visits involving children who ingested marijuana cookies or candy left around by adults.
I am sure there are potential benefits to marijuana production but is there a net benefit to The Bahamas or are we chasing “fool’s gold”? These are some considerations for the debate on this issue. It appears that marijuana will be no savior to The Bahamas. In my recent travel to Amsterdam, I was under the impression that their semi-legalization through a non-enforcement (marijuana is still not legal) experiment was going great and they were happy for the marijuana tourists coming to their city. What I discovered was quite the opposite. They felt the drug shops and sex shops attracted the riff-raff of Europe and were not as excited as the romanticized promotions and stories would have indicated.
So, what does this mean for The Bahamas? I am quite aware at this time that politicians and businessmen have already concluded that they will forge ahead with legalization and at this point, I do not know if anything I present will cause a pause or further consideration, but my job is to speak the truth as I see it and the rest is not in my hands. There is certainly potential profit but do the profits outweigh the negative returns?
Unless someone can come up with a better scenario and better data, the hemp industry seems to be an illusion for The Bahamas. Even if investors invested the money to get started, can The Bahamas realistically compete with the US and other global producers?
At a cursory glance, it appears that the hemp industry is not viable for The Bahamas, at least in the short term. It appears to me that rather than pursuing this course, The Bahamas needs to look at some “low-hanging fruit” options that are before us.
It has been said that during the pandemic, we have been reminded of the need to feed ourselves and not continue to import the overwhelming majority of our food. One possible way to make a dent in imports is to focus in on packaging and preserving what we already grow. Every year, The Bahamas wastes tons of produce simply because there are few facilities or companies involved in packaging. I noted that in travels to the US, Europe and other countries including Caribbean countries like Jamaica, food was being packaged and distributed locally. Simple things like dried fruit were available and sourced from local producers. Why could we not do the same?
The other area of potential economic impact is fisheries. Fishing is something we do naturally, and other countries pillage our resources on a regular basis. Why can’t we help our economic situation by increasing the level of production, packaging and export of our fisheries resources? Perhaps, we should look at these options unless there is some data missing that would indicate the hemp industry is more promising than what is alluded to in the Forbes Magazine article. I will end with a paraphrase of the words of Jesus where he stated, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
What does it profit a country if we pursue something for monetary gain and lose the soul, lives and mental health of many of our people in the process? You be the judge.
• Pastor Dave Burrows is senior pastor at Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Feel free to email comments, whether you agree or disagree, to pastordaveburrows@hotmail.com. I appreciate your input and dialogue. We become better when we discuss, examine and exchange.
The post Are hemp and marijuana viable and net beneficial to The Bahamas? appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/are-hemp-and-marijuana-viable-and-net-beneficial-to-the-bahamas/
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